Presenting your portfolio
By Jason on Aug 30, 2007 in design business, presentation tips
CommArts has another viewpoint about the evolving portfolio. Even thought it’s a couple years old, I tend to agree with everything she says.
“The new paradigm is the e-portfolio: a PDF file that can be e-mailed, printed out as a booklet and printed out in a larger presentation format for interviews. It is the delivery system for the 2000’s: flexible and fast. Every page tells a story, and you can breeze through it in a few clicks. Who has time for drop-offs any more? If there’s a job posting on craigslist or Creative Hotlist, hundreds of résumés arrive via e-mail within 24 hours. The smartest of them will have—not a link to a URL, which also makes people do too much work—an attachment of two or three PDF pages, kind of a portfolio synopsis that, if it fits the job, can put the applicant right on top of the pile.”I can attest that when I review designer portfolios that are sent to me online, those that have an expanded PDF version (with samples!) not only shoot up the list of prospective hires, it skyrockets them, officially knocking off three that don’t. In fact, I’m pretty militant about résumés. If they aren’t designed at all (think basic Word documents), I instantly put them at the bottom of the pile to possibly revisit later. I know, most big corporations are requiring basic word docs, but when I request online samples, that is a pretty good indication I can handle an email attachment over 1MB. To me, if a designer doesn’t take the time to design his or her own résumé, and that’s the first thing I’m going to see, they already missed a huge chance to catch my eye. Thoughts?
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